backslap
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
Etymology
Origin of backslap
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Afterward, Mbappe was consoled by his country’s president, Emmanuel Macron, while Messi was congratulated by an emir, with Qatar’s leader giving him a Bisht, a black and gold robe, and a backslap.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 18, 2022
Surveillance footage showed the backslap — more than a pat but less than a shove — apparently startling but not harming the 78-year-old leader of the effort to overturn the 2020 election.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 27, 2022
But the eagerness to backslap Sandler for the type of puerile and incurious humor he’s been peddling for the past two decades is revealing on its own, too.
From Slate ● Nov. 7, 2018
His idiom consists exclusively of backslap and bluster.
From The New Yorker ● Sep. 21, 2015
Analysts will be monitoring not only what is said — and what is not said — but every wink, nod and backslap that could feed the existing narrative of a bond between the two men.
From New York Times ● Jul. 28, 2012
He sold off the presidential yacht, where many of his predecessors had backslapped their way to legislative triumphs.
From Slate ● Dec. 29, 2024
During her victory speech last Tuesday in Brooklyn, Clinton openly backslapped Sanders.
From Time ● Jun. 13, 2016
Democrats and Republicans alike hugged and backslapped, got themselves sworn in and offered a few clues about the issues ahead.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 7, 2014
Roberts then blasted his own grand slam, and after the four Diamondbacks backslapped their way to the dugout, the fans demanded that Roberts take a bow.
From New York Times ● Oct. 6, 2011
Dale returned to his seat while the men backslapped each other and said jovial things back and forth.
From "It All Comes Down to This" by Karen English
Previous versions have often been sleepy affairs with more backslapping and grandstanding than serious policy action.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
A fan of Don Rickles and Howard Stern, he didn’t approach comedy with a scientist’s mind but, rather, like a backslapping buddy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 20, 2024
Even his allies acknowledge he is not the backslapping, baby-kissing type — concerns he has tried to address by spending more time greeting voters and taking selfies.
From New York Times ● May 24, 2023
They describe him as a “loner” who “was not a backslapping politician.”
From Slate ● Mar. 18, 2023
At Zach’s table, a celebration was going on, with lots of backslapping and high fives.
From "Schooled" by Gordon Korman
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
